Peter J.Heizmann

Agree 110%, Ed. In my 46 years of foundry and casting engineering I have heard it all (I thought). More times than I can remember people would contact us, ask us to make a part using a rusty sometimes broken part as a pattern. Sometimes we could use the original by fixing and cleaning up however the shrink of the original made the new part about .030 or so less. I have been reading the many threads on this forum about 3-D printing. What is rarely discussed is the material of the original part. When I would ask people is what metal do they want. The usual answer was "oh just pour it in plain grey iron or standard aluminum or I don't know. I would turn them down immediately unless they have a destructive test via a spectrometer performed to ascertain the metal being copied. There are metallurgical labs out there that can provide this. Also, "destructive" means a small wedge must be cut out of the original part. There is an active thread right now from Dandy Dave about the broken transmission part and the material was described simply as "cast iron". There are many grades of cast iron. In my shops we poured a base iron Class 25. By inoculating with copper for instance you can get a stronger Class 35 and upwards. Ductile iron has various grades with hardness levels achieved by heat treating. What I am getting at is if those not in the know simply look at a metal part and say "oh, it is plain 'ole cast iron when in reality it may be a high strength forging. Peter J.

Thinking on those lines, too. If located around Chicago and skeletal remains are found in the trunk, guarantee 'ole Al Capone could be involved.

alsancle, Ozstatman, Dave S., Avanti Bill: Unfortunately we are hearing from some that think Saigon was a city outside of Hoboken or the Mars Rover (Auto related) is in reality filmed in a Holywood studio.

Not so for the PA Turnpike which is a "toll road" versus off turnpike local highways, etc. I believe off turnpike speed limits were in the 50 m.p.h. range on highways that could handle it. When the turnpike opened the first section that ran from Carlisle, PA to Irwin, PA the speed limit was 70 m.p.h. per the history book I bought. I recall my father reminiscing about the excitement the turnpike generated that one could go such a distance without a stop light. Also the turnpike was known for speeding up delivery of war supplies via convoy.

Correct. Coming home from a meet in Johnstown around the 2005 era I pulled into the rest area at the Midway Plaza. They had a really nice display of hundreds of turnpike souvenirs, photos, and so forth. I bought a copy of The Pennsylvania Turnpike and could not put it down. Just checked and you are correct. The 1940 initial speed limit was 70 miles per hour. It was then lowered to 65 due to the ending period of WWII. Also there were no center medial strip barriers and one could do a u-turn if crazy enough. Interesting read of ups and downs. Over the winter if anyone is bored Google "Abandoned PA turnpike" to see the condition of the abandoned tunnels at Sideling Hill, Rays Hill, Laurel Mountain. The original 12 miles of abandoned turnpike in 1968 ran from Sideling Hill to the Bedford Exit. Get off at Bedford today and take it slow. You go about 3/4 of a mile and on the right is the abandoned roadway from the original 1940 exit. Peter J.

When I used to show at Hershey Steve reminded me of the Pied Piper. He would show up at my car with a line of young future enthusiasts in tow. He was teaching them about judging, the process from greeting the owner to sharing the history and mechanics of the vehicle. Quite a guy to say the least. Thank you Lord for gifting all of us with the friendship of Brenda and Steve.

Very true, David. I certainly did not condone the practice just repeating what Matt did as a dumb teenager...

Back before I retired my boss Matt and I were discussing our sports cars when we were in our teens. He had an MG Midget that had some serious rust issues. He took it to a local shop for inspection and the mechanic said there was no way he would issue an inspection sticker with the rust condition. Matt told the mechanic he could not afford to repair the rusted area but offered to buy what seemd like a ton of Bondo. The mechanic told him he will slop on the Bondo then told Matt to go out and drive through whatever mud and dust he could find to cover the Bondo up. He then issued and inspection sticker without washing the car until the frame collapsed due to the rust a year or so later.

I am with you on no more parades. Have a Triumph TR6 that I have owned since new in 1972. Around 1982 a local Fire Chief and good friend asked if he could borrow the car for a parade to carry a local politician. I had to be out of town however told him he could borrow it provided no one else drove it and no one sits on top of the roof tonneau cover. Worked out well so I thought. He returned the car to my garage. About 2 months later I decided to take it for a cruise. Alas! Had no clutch plus the roof bows were bent. A friend said the politician decided to sit on it so more people could see him. Costly lesson to say the least. On a lighter side in 1956 my father's lawyer and golfing buddy volunteered to have the National Guard provide an Army tank to participate in our 4th of July parade. Talk about a huge financial hit for the borough. It was a terribly hot day and the roadway tar turned extremely tacky. Every time the tank made a turn the tracks would chop up the road plus left track marks along the 1 mile route.

Jalopy Whippersnapper Whatchamacallit

Very interesting if you are into heavy trucks. The museum is a "guided tour" and you must arrange a visit to see this. When my company prior to retirement made many castings for Mack Allentown and Greensboro I toured the collection many times and it is well worth it. Check out the attached website. There are on-line tours of which are well done. mack truck museum tour - Bing Regards, Peter J.

Thank you, Matt.

Means it is time to get your phone book, look up the number for 911 then run.

AACA Des Moines Region (aaca-dsm.org) George, try contacting the Des Moines Region. Regards, Peter J.

Gary...that reminds me of the infamous words of Dean Martin: "Never drink and drive...you might hit a pot hole and spill your beer".

Surprised no one noticed that HERCO vulcanized over the asphalt…😎

The Chief Judge traditionally releases vehicles at 3:00 plus it is well noted in the meet brochure. IMO it was finally cracked down upon which is great considering all the hard work of hundreds of volunteers. You can leave before 3:00 on the Hockersville Road exits "however" the officers at the exits will demand that you turn in your windshield judging card which will then be given to the judging committee to disqualify you from receiving trophies or whatever.

Alas…I never did thus I thought it to be weird.

This is weird, Jay. The passes mysteriously show up without the stamp being cancelled and one day to spare. Oh well. At least you have them.

Jay. This late in the game and considering how busy HQ is currently try simply phoning HQ. To ask the question on this forum does not necessarily mean the person (s) with authority will pick up on your query. It is all over the news how the USPS is "way" behind in delivery, too.

John. With all the touring experience and Wayne's hard work being a past AACA Director I would gamble that Gloria already reads the Antique Automobile. When Gloria finds out where the computer is Wayne is going to need your guest bedroom...😃

West and family…my condolence to all of you. He certainly was a wonderful gentleman. Regards, Peter.

USPS deliveries continue to have problems overall. Just be patient.

Saw this in the Reading Eagle news today: https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/2-berks-attractions-among-top-us-travel-destinations/article_2f6eb6fc-1ca9-11ec-b24c-7331a9bc8796.html Regards, Peter J.